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wearing apparel with body-conforming inner panel



March 5, 1968 R. R. PAGANO Re. 26,360

ITH BODY-CONFORMING INNER PANEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 WEARING APPAREL WOriginal Filed Feb. 19. 1964 INVENTOR RALPH R. PAGANO BY W 9 ATTORNEYMarch 1968 R. R. PAGANO 25,360

CONFORMING INNER PANEL WEARING APPAREL WITH BODY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed Feb. 19, 1964 FIG.8

INVENTOR. RALPH R. PAGANO ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofilicc Remd $1.22

26,360 WEARING APPAREL WITH liflDY-CEJNFORMING INNER PANEL Ralph *2.Pugs-no, 118 37th St, ilrooklymf'lfi. 11269 Original No. 3,246,342,dated Apr. 1966, Ser. No. 345,979, Feb. 19, 1964. Application forreissue Dec. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 6065M 4 #Cluims. (Cl. 128-519) Matterenclosed in heavy brackets 1 appears in the original patent but forms nopart of this reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicatesthe additions made by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wearing apparel is disclosed having a bodyportion in the region of the waistline to just below the hips comprisinga front panel and a rear panel with seams connecting the front and rearpanels together along the sides thereof extending from the waistline tobelow the hips. The front panel has an inner from panel of elasticizedmaterial extending across the brick therco said inner front panel ofelasticized material extending from the waistline to just below the hipsand being sewn along its sides under transverse tension to the back ofthe front panel. An inner rear panel of elasticized material extendsacross the brick of the rear panel, the rear panel also extending fromthe waistline to just below the hips and being sewn while undertrtuasverse tension to the back of the rear panel and down along thesides thereof.

This invention relates to a wearing apparel and, in pur'lleulur, to animproved apparel construction in the region of the body portion from thewaistline to the hips.

Recent trends in the design and construction of wearing apparel, such asskirts and trousers, have been in the direction of emphasizing slenderlines. Generally, such constructions have involved the use of \hetapering line. In the case of trousers or slacks, whether worn by men orwomen, this has been achieved by narrowing and tapering the dependingleg portions down to the region of the ankles, removing pleats, etc.While such constructions have had a marked effect on current wearingapparel design. little has been done in the way of producing a slendcrline effect in the body portion of the garment in the region bounded bythe waistline and hips without sacrificlog comfort. This has beenresponsible in large measure for discouragirg many Women from wearingslacks.

It is thus an object of my invention to provide an improved wearingapparel construction having as its purpose to impart a slenderappearance to the body in the region of the waistline to the hips.

Another object is to provide a pair of trousers charactcrizcd by aconstruction in the region of the waistline to the hips which not onlyconfers a slender look to the body but also elastically supports andslcnderizes portions of the human anatomy such the abdomen just abovethe pelvic region and/or the anatomy in the region of the buttocks.

A still further object is to provide a wearing apparel constructioncharacterized in the region of the waistline by a droppable front flapportion which facilitates the dressing and undressing of said apparel.

These and other objects will more clearly appear when considered in thelight of the following description and the accompanying drawing,wherein:

FIG. I is a front view perspective of one embodiment of my inventionshowing the front flap portion at the waistline in the rlroppcd[.OulllOl'l;

FIG. 2 is like FIG. 1 except the front flap is shown in the secured upposition;

FIG. 3 depicts a side elevation partially broken away of the embodimentshown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial front perspective with the front of the trousersremoved to show the details of construction in the inside of the backportion of the trousers in the region of the waistline and the buttocks;

FIG. 5 is a purlial perspective looking from the back side of thetrousers with the back side removed showing the details of constructionof the inside portion of the front panel of the trousers;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section of the back side of the trousers takenalong line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the front side of thetrousers taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged horizontal section looking from the top takenalong line 8-8 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged horizontal section looking from the top takenalong line 9-9 of FIG. 5.

It will be appreciated that while the novel construction of my inventionis illustrated as applied to trousers, it is advantageously useful forfeminine wearing apparel such as skirts, as well as male and fern-aletrousers, including knee britches, shorts, jod vhurs, slacks and thelike.

In accordance with my invention, I provide an improved body constructionfor wearing apparel having a body portion in the region of the waistlineto just below the hips. Broadly speaking, the body portion comprises afront panel and a rear panel connected together via scams along thesides thereof extending from the waistline to below the hips as iscommonly employed in the manufacture of trousers. But here thesimilarity stops in that with regard to the front panel I provide adroppable front flap which commences as part of the waistline inwardlyfrom the sides thereof in the region near the midportlon and divergesdownwardly and outwardly along a line which is connected on each sidethereof (somewhat like a trapezoid) to side pluckcts of the front panel,each side of the droppable front flap terminating outwardly at justbelow the hips. The advantage of this construction is that the garment,be it a pair of trousers or the like, can be easily slipped on eventhough it is designed to lit the body very snugly, the downwardlydiverging lines of the hop having a tendency of imparting a slenderappearance to the body.

In its preferred aspects, on inner from panel of closlicizcd material orfabric is connected to the inside or inner face of the front flap bymeans of a scam along the Waistline and along the connecting sides ofthe flap, the elasticized material being free transversely ulong thebottom of the flap. The width of the elasticized material (to bedescribed later) is proportioned to be less than that of the flop so asto provide some tension against the body of the wearer at and above thepelvic region and to add to the slendcrizing effect. As a furtherfeature, elasticized material or fabric may be employed as an inner rearpanel so as to apply tension across the buttocks of the body in furtherimparting a slcndcrizing effect in keeping with the front flapconstruction.

Referring to the various figures of the drawing which depict oneembodiment of my invention as applied to a garment shown in this case asa sci of trousers, FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a front perspective with thefront flap dropped (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the body portion isdesignated generally by the numeral 10 having depending leg portions 11and 12. The body portion extends from the waistline 13 to just below thehips at about 14L and 14R and comprises a front panel 15 and a rearpanel i6 connected together via seems it? and Ill alonz: the sides ofthe garment extending from the waistline to below the hips.

The front panel has a droppable flap 1.9 connected to substantiallytriangularly shaped side plackcts 20 and 2i along lines 22 and 23, forexample by means of zippers 24, it being understood that any connectingmeans may be employed. As will be noted, the upper edge 25 of the flapforms part of the waistline and is connected to the other parts of thewaistline by means of cOnnectahis wings 25a and 25b located inwardly ofthe side estremiites of the waist, the sides 22 and 23 of the flapdiverging downxt'arly and outwardly and terminating to just below thehips as at ML and 14R, respectively. As shown in FIG. I, the wings areprovided with button holes for connection with corresponding buttons onthe waistline. As will be observed from FIG. 2, the diverging lines alsohelp to convey a slender appearance to the garment.

As stated hereinabove. it is preferred that the garment have incombination with the body portion, for example with the flap, an innerpanel support of elasticized material or fabric. This is shown by thecross hatching in back of the dropped llap in FIG. 1 and in more detailin F G. 5 which is a rear view of the front panel with the rear panelremoved. Here the inner panel support sewed to the back of the frontflap is shown as a kind of girdle construction 26 of elasticizedmaterial following the substantially trapezoidal contour of the flap andbeing sewn thereto as shown along the upper edge of the front wrlistlineand down along the diverging sides of the flap, the bottom edge 27 (notealso FIG. 2) of the f ont inne panel support running transversely andfreely. that is unconnected, from one side of the front panel to theother, except preferably for an anchoring point 28 slightly below thehip line or approximately two or three inches above the crotch 29. Asshown in FIG. 7, which is a longitudinal section taken along line 7-7,the elasticized inner panel or girdle construction 26 hangs slightlyapart from the material of the flap, FIG. 7 being exaggerated forpurposes of clarily. In sewing the elasticized material along the topand two side edges to the back of the flap, the transverse width of theelasticized material is shorter than that of the flap. This is done bysewing the elasticized material to the back of the flap while it isstretched. This is shown somewhat diagrammatically in the cross sectionof FIG. 9 taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 5. Note that the width of innerpanel 26 is shorter than the width of flap 19 at the region sectioned.When the garment is worn, the inner front panel stretches andaccommodates and supports the abdomen above the pelvic region. Thishelps in further conveying the appearance of a flat slender look.

In sewing the elasticized material to the back of the front flap, theamount to which the elastic material is stretched before it is sewn inplace varies from the top of the lap to the bottom. Referring to Fit].5, the total width W, of the elastic material near the top of the flapbefore it is sewed in place may, for example, be onequarter less thanthe width of the flap material, while the width W of the elasticmaterial near the bottom of the flap may be one and one half inches lessthan that of the flap. Because the width of the flap varies from the topto the bottom, the amount of stretch before sewing is preferably variedaccordingly to achieve the desired girdle effect. As a rule of thumb,the transverse stretch may vary one-eight of an inch per inch of flapmeasured along the sides from the top to the bottom. Thus, assuming aflap length of about twelve inches along the diverging side, the totaltransverse stretch at the bottom before sewing would be approximatelyone and one-half inches, Putting it another way, the width ofelasticized inner panel at the bottom of the flap should be about oneand one-half inches less than that of the flap. Thus, by tranverselystretching the inner panel from the top to the bottom, with the stretchincreasing substantially proportionately to a width of the flap, a

fairly uniform tension is assured throughout the inner panel.

With regard to the rear panel, I also prefer that it have an inner panelof elasticized material or fabric sewn to it at the inner face thereofin order to support and streamline the body in the general area of thebuttock. Referring to FIG. 4, which is a view of the rear inner panel ofthe rear panel of the garment with the front panel cut away, theelasticized material 30 is indicated in cross hatched lines, thematerial being sewn along the top of the waist 13 as shown by dottedlines 31 and also vertically along the sides 32 and 33, as well asvertically down the middle of the rear panel at 34. The bottom 35 issimilarly unconnected and runs tranversely and freely across the garmentjust below the hips from one side to the other. In effect, theelasticized inner rear panel may comprise two sections, one bounded byseams 31, 32 and 34 and the other by seams 31, 33 and 34.

The width of the elasticized rear inner panel in the unstretchedcondition is less than that of the rear outer panel to which it is sewnin the stretched condition, the amount of stretch of the inner panel assewn being greater where the width of the outer panel is greater asdescribed for the front inner panel. As a rule of thumb, the width nearthe waist is about one-quarter inch less than the rear panel andgradually decreases to one and a half inch less at the bottomapproximately near the region of the hips. In other Words, the rearinner panel will follow the contour of the body. The rear inner panelhangs slightly away from the rear outer panel as shown in FIG. 6 whichis a section taken longitudinally along line 6-6 of FIG. 4. However, thespace is filled out when the garment is worn. FIG. 8 depicts somewhatdiagrammatically a horizontal section taken through line 88 of FIG. 4showing the difference in width between rear inner panel 30 ofelasticized material and rear outer panel 15 of the garment, with thetwo panels joined at seams 32 and 33 at the sides and seam 34 at themiddle.

By combining a built-in girdle construction with the novel flapconstruction provided by the invention in the preferred form shown inthe drawing, the slender look is maximized in the region of the waist tothe hips. The novel flap construction in the front, particularly wherethe trousers are snug fitting, allows for ease of dressing andundressing. By employing a front girdle construction as described incombination with the flap, clean lines are assured in the region of thecrotch and in the pelvic region without bunchingaip of the outer fabric,thus giving the effect of a flat abdomen. Likewise, by employing a backgirdle construction as described in combination with the rear panel,clean lines are assured in the region of the buttocks with bunching-upof material greatly minimized.

I find that my novel garment construction is applicable to regularfabrics as well as stretchable fabrics. For example, the outer front andback panels including the whole garment may be made of stretchablefabric. In that case, the elasticized girdle material may have a greaterresistance to stretch than the outer panels so as to provide a mainsupport to the body.

Summarizing my invention, I provide a wearing apparel, such as a pair oftrousers, comprising a body portion in the region of the waistline tojust below the hips wherein I employ an improved body portionconstruction which comprises a front panel and a rear panel connectedtogether via seams along the side thereof extending from the waistlineto below the hips. the front panel being formed of a droppable flap andside plackets, the droppable flap having a connectable waist portion atits upper edge forming part of the waistline. The flap is somewhattrapezoidal in shape and is conncctable along each side thereof to acorresponding placket, the sides of the flap conncctable to the placketsdiverging downwardly and outwardly from the front of the waistline andterminating at the sides of the body portion of the apparel. In thepreferred embodiment, the apparel or trousers has an inner front panelof elasticized material combined with the back of the droppable flap,the inner front panel being sewn while under ension to the back of thedown along the diverging ps. In addition, the inner panel is furtheranchored to the front panel at a point above the crotch.

In a more preferred embodiment, the rear panel has combined with it aninner rear panel of elasticized material which is sewn while undertransverse tension to the rear panel along the waistline, down along thesides of the body portion of the rear panel and also down the middle ofthe rear panel from the waistline to the region of the crotch. Theelasticized material in both instances is sewn to provide substantiallyuniform gripping of the body in a kind of girdle construction.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction withpreferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications andvariations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readily under-What is claimed is:

I. In a pair of trousers comprising a b the region of the waistline tojust bel having two legs depending therefrom, a portion constructionwhich comprises, a rear panel, scams connecting said together along thesides thereof exte line to below the hi ody portion in ow the hips andit improved body a front panel and front and rear panels nding from thewaistps, said front panel being formed of a droppable [lap andunconcealed side plackets, each of said unconcealed side placketscomprising a substantially triangularly shaped piece having asubstantially vertical edge connected by a seam to and along the sidesof the trousers, an edge connected by a seam to the waistline, and anedge diverging downwardly and outwardly at an angle from the waistlineand having connecting means therealong for connection to the flap, thedroppable flap having a connectable waist portion at its upper edgeforming part of the waistline, said flap having connecting means alongeach side thereof associated with the connecting means of eachcorresponding placket, the connecting sides of said flap and saidunconcealed plackets commencing inwardly from the sides of said trouserin the region near the midportion of the waistline and divergingdownwardly and outwardly together from the waistline and terminating atthe sides of the body portion of said apparel, an inner front panel ofelasticized material combined with the back of said droppable flap, saidinner front panel of elasticized material being sewn under transversetension to the hack of said ilap along the waist portion, down along thediverging sides and anchored at a point above the crotch. and an innerrear panel of elasticized material combined with the back of said rearpanel, said inner rear panel being sewn while under transverse tensionto the back of the rear panel along the waistline, down along the sidesof the rear panel and down the middle of the rear panel from thewaistline to the region of the crotch. said unconceaicd triangularplackets being shaped to follow the contour of the body from themidportion of the waistline whereby to ellect a c ean sim line incooperation with the flap.

2. In a wearing apparel comprising a boil portion in the rcgit'nz of theit'rrist'linc to just below the hips, (in improvr'rl body portionconstruction which comprircr, a front panel and a rear panel, scamsconnecting rait'l from mm rear panels fogcfllcr al ng the sidesiht'rcrif extending from the waistline to below the hips, sa d frompanel having an inner front panel of clrrtrrin ztul murcriul extendingacross rhe inner face thereof, K ll (l inner front panel of clarricizrfdmaterial extruding from the waistline to below the hips and being sewntt'mlcr ZIUILYVFi-SL citsiort along its sides to the inner fact of.Sllltl' front panel and an inner rear panel of elasticized materialrr't'ntl ing (across the inner side of said rear pmicl, said inner rearpanel extending from the waistline to below the hips and being sewnwhile under transverse tension to the back of the rear panel down alongsubstantially the sides of the rear panel.

3. The wearing apparel of claim 2 front panel of elasticized material isfrom panel in the region of the crotch.

4. The wearing apparel of claim 3 wherein the inner rear panel ofelaslicizcd material is sewn to and sub- .sfanlially down the middle ofthe rear panel while under transverse tension.

wherein the inner anchored to the References Cited The followingreferences, cited by the Examiner. are

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

